I've read a bit about the kanji requirements for each level of the JLPT test, but can't seem to find any info about what they actually are. 4 Kyuu requires 85 or so, 3 kyuu requires 300 kanji, 2 kyuu 1000 and so on. But does this mean they want you to know and be able to write all those kanji, or simply want you to recognize each kanji?

I`m a new member and currently working in a creche in the near of Tokyo. I`m a volunteer and arrived in Japan in August.

I`m studying hard for the 2 kyuu but there are on every sites other numbers of kanjis which are required. E.g. for 1kyuu I need around 2000 Kanis so why is on this site written is just need around 1100 ? I`m sorry but I`m confused..... Well.... I guess I?ve to add the 755 of 2kyuu, 165 of 3kyuu and 80 of 4kyuu, right?

But if I like to study for 3kyuu I need to know 300 kanji but there are just 265 Kanjis. Nevertheless are this all Kanji I have to know?

If you see different information then generally, one site is older than another. Although the differences shouldn't be that big. If you go to the official Website you will notice that exact numbers are not given. Instead it says around 1000 kanji, around 2000 kanji, etc..

so if I can all Kanjis and vocabularys of this site for the particular Level I`ll achive a high score, correct? I don?t want study all Kanjis believe I?m best prepared and then see in the exam that there are 5% Kanji I don?t know or more....

The difference in numbers is TOTAL kanji versus ADDITIONAL kanji. For level 3, you need to know a total of 300 kanji. For level 2, you need to know a total of 1000 kanji, or the 300 level 3 kanji plus 700 new kanji. Level 1 is 2000 total, or level 3 + level 2 + 1000 new ones.

I highly recommend getting some textbooks made specifically for the test. They will teach you the kanji that appear most often.

apple-freak wrote:
so if I can all Kanjis and vocabularys of this site for the particular Level I`ll achive a high score, correct?

Not necessarily. The JLPT is a Japanese proficiency test, not a kanji test. Kanji is only a small part of the test; on the level 1 test, at least, questions that ask you directly about kanji are worth about 8% of the points on the test (at least for the 2005 test). Being able to read the kanji is more of a basic skill than the purpose of the test.

For level 2 and level 1, reading comprehension at a normal speed is very important. The grammar section is also quite important.

3 and 4 I'm not so sure about; there the exact number of kanji may be more relevant.

Last edited by Yudan Taiteki on Mon 07.23.2007 11:04 am, edited 1 time in total.